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As Robin turns to leave a thought strikes Wild.
When asked about the stranger’s room, Cham escorts the group down the hall to another room. The room is very similar to Rodrik’s room, with a bed and a desk. The bed remains made and at first glance seems like it was never occupied.
Melira,
I shouldn’t be away for much longer. We still haven’t found what we’re looking for, but it’s only a matter of time, and the other preparations are proceeding as planned. A meddling militia patrol captain had been poking around, but I don’t foresee him being a threat for much longer. Once our work is done, it won’t matter anyway, and I can return to you. I marvel that I found you in the midst of all this, and this of you constantly. Soon, my beloved.
Vethorm joins the group to look in the alleged stranger's room, but not knowing what to look for, he's not much help.
In response to Purg, Hilde touches the bells she wears. "Bolka is the Golden Gift, the dwarf goddess of marriage, committed relationships, and passion."
"When you said you had a mystery man check in Cham, I didn't realize they had a room as well." He sweeps his eyes across the room "Then again, it sure looks like he never set foot in here."
"True. Nothing seems disturbed or used." Ranhild chimes in.
Purg doesn't find anything unusual about the room either. He looks at Hilde and blushes a little. His entire face basically turns red, that is. "Oh, she sound like a very nice lady. Passion." He tries not to look as surprised by this. It doesn't work. Purg thinks about their next destination though, and his heart sinks. "Maybe Purg let you go to loud place and he ask questions somewhere quiet."
After arriving with the group in the stranger's room and fruitlessly searching around a bit, Wild exclaims his prophecy.
"See!? Empty! Glorious nothing! Groetus shows us the way. Ah ha ha!"
"I'm not sure Groetus was particularly involved Mr. Wild. But I suppose we'll find out." Robin gives a confused smile as he leads the way to Clamour.
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The morning rolls onto the afternoon and the party heads out to Clamor after exhausting the leads they can get from the Ramblehouse. The sky is cloudless, an otherwise beautiful day, but the mood on the streets is somber. Word has clearly spread of Rodrik’s death. The few people that are encountered keep their eyes down and mumble simple greetings. The usual background sounds of town are now silent and the ringing of hammers from Clamor can be heard from a greater distance.
Suddenly though, the peace is shattered as people can be heard shouting ahead. It is unclear what is being shouted, but the shouts are troubled and not simply excited. The party soon comes upon a dangerous scene. A small group of locals are backing away from four snarling wolves that have somehow gotten well into town. There is something off with the wolves as they show no sign of fear being among so many men.
As the party starts to assess what they are seeing, one of the wolves breaks the tension and charges a young merchant. The wolf sinks it’s teeth into the man’s leg and the party gets a good look at the wolf. Blood seems to seep from it’s eyes and ears, and it’s teeth drip with a bloody froth. This along with the savagery seen in it’s eyes make it clear something is wrong with them.
Purg knows wolves from hunting, and these don't seem right to him. He can't quite put his finger on it, however. Not that it really matters, they are biting people and that is bad!
Purg takes his time, pulling his crossbow from where it was strapped to his back, carefully loading it and preparing to shoot. It was no sense to do things too fast, that's how you end up shooting yourself or your friends.
He looks at the one biting the man, but doesn't think he can shoot carefully enough to not hit the man and only hit the wolf, so he shoots at a different wolf instead.
Perhaps because he was scared or perhaps because he was rushing just like he told himself not to, his shot goes wide and thunks into the town wall.
Seeing only a threat to his new clan in the form of ravenous wolves, Wild forgoes the opportunity to identify them. He removes his ripsaw glaive from its binding and charges into danger with a loud growl.
"Grrr... Aaarrgghh!"
"What?" Robin is taken aback by the wolves in the middle of town attacking people. He's seen wildlife like this on the road. Even helped fend them off at times, but for them to be here in the midst of civilization leaves him completely off guard. He certainly doesn't make a habit of carrying weapons in town, leaving him only with a dagger used more for its utility than its power at fending off foes. Rather than draw it, he rushes to the side of the villager that had gotten attacked and touches the man on the shoulder, offering a protective blessing to help him get away.
Vethorm's jaw drops as he comes up and sees what's going on. Wolves?! Inside the town walls?!
The dwarf blanches. "They're acting like they have rabies! Put them down quickly!" She readies her shield and calls on her goddess to empower the party.
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The group jumps into action. Purg fires a bolt at one of the wolves but in his haste the shot goes wide. Wild and Robin rush ahead, Wild to take a heavy swing at the first wolf and Robin to protect the local citizen who was attacked. Wild’s attack bites deep into the wolf’s ribs, opening it’s side. The wolf still stands but it is unsteady as it turns to the new threat. Hilde calls to Bolka for spiritual aid which spreads across the group as soft glowing runes.
The other wolves charge forward to attack. Their tactics show none of the cunning that a wolf pack usually employs as each wolf appears to simply attack the closest target. A second wolf darts towards the local merchant under Robin’s protection, though it seems unfazed by the magic barrier. Again the merchant remains on his feet which means he may be able to get away.
Next one wolf cautiously steps up to Wild and bites at his legs. The wolf’s teeth sink in and the wolf manages to bring him down on his back. The wound is minor but Wild is clearly in a dangerous position.
The last wolf charges a different local and fails to get a solid bite, though the impact of the blow seems to knock them back.
Taking a few moments to process things, Ranhild's quick mind deems Wild the most immediately vulnerable person facing the wolves. With a deep breath she reaches within, summoning forth the ancient battle magic that was her expertise, drawing her hammer even as she burst into motion, charging toward the wolf lurking over the crazy gnome as blazing runes flare to life on both her hammer and shield.
With a defiant war cry, the shield maiden delivers swift vengeance on the feral beast.
"S***!" Vethorm thinks to himself as he rushes around the lone wolf attacking one of the townsfolk. "S***s***s***s***s***s***s***s***s***s***s***s***!!!"
He strikes at the wolf with his shortsword, hoping to kill it quick before he's bitten too.
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Vethorm circles around one of the wolves and drives his sword into the ribs of the wolf, taking advantage of it’s focus on the local. The wolf stumbles but stays up with a sharp cry.
Nearby, the wolf that Wild had wounded turns and attacks him. The wolf’s teeth sink into his shoulder drawing more blood.
Purg reloads his crossbow and carefully takes aim at the wolf that is savaging Wild (red). He takes a couple steps to be in better position before firing.
This shot goes much better, Purg watches it fly towards the wolf he was aiming at and not into a wall. Also not into Wild or Robin or... did he get that other one's name? Oh well. Later.
Robin steps forward, pulling a dagger from a sheath on his belt. He clearly isn't the most comfortable with the weapon, but he's also not willing to keep letting the villager next to him get attacked. He slashes at the green wolf .
After enduring a few bites and reddened with blood, Wild gets back on his feet again. This time he howls at one of the remaining wolves, gnashing his crooked teeth while stepping over its fallen packmate.
"AROOO!!"
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Purg reloads his crossbow and fires a shot at the wolf straight ahead of him. The bolt hits the wolf in the neck and it falls. Robin pulls his a dagger and stabs the wolf that still threatens the local. Wild leaps to his feet and swings his weapon at the same wolf which falls with a loud crack coming from it's back.
Hilde draws her mace and closes up the distance to the fight, but is unable to reach the last wolf.
Vethorm stares down the remaining wolf right in front of him. He gulps as he was clearly the easiest target now.
Swiftly changing direction, Ranhild races over to the sole remaining wolf, her shield leading her charge, hammer held low until moments before impact as she skids to a halt, her body shifting to deliver a vicious uppercut swing.
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Ranhild's hammer crashes down on the wolf's skull. The wolf falls to the ground without a sound, dying instantly from the blow. The crowd still flees though they are now less panicked.
A few moments pass and a few members of the militia come running onto the scene. They begin seeing who is injured, helping the locals to their feet. A young woman comes over to the group and thanks them for their help.
"Thank you. If you weren't here, I cannot imagine how much worse this could have been." Another local says in appreciation.
"Yes, thank you." The young militia woman says. "How did wolves make it into town? Especially through not one but two gates."
Purg's eyes and nose follow the trail well enough. He beckons Vethorm along with him, as the two had been working together before now. Also it wasn't safe, and it always help to have a friend along. "Look, look here. Wolves come from here, not from outside town. Someone sneak the wolves in!" Purg doesn't like what that means. Someone in the town could have hurt villagers! What kind of monster do something like that?
Purg carefully sets his crossbow back onto his back, a thought which gave him a little laugh but he kept the laugh inside because this was not the time. First someone kill his friend, and now they try to kill more? This was bad. "Purg think maybe these two things are not apart. Maybe same bad person who kill Rod-Rick also try kill more. Maybe bad killer-person still in town."
Hilde stows her unblooded mace and kneels to examine the dead wolves.
"That still looks like rabies. Who was bitten?"
"Definitely not!" Ranhild says, in agreement with Purg upon the discovery of the cart. "Whoever managed to get the wolves through the gates would have had to find a way past any guards and patrols. It wouldn't be a stretch that they'd also kill a patrol member, especially to avoid getting caught."
As the last wolf drops to the ground, Wild takes a moment to wave around the apocalyptic banner attached to his glaive in defiant celebration.
"Hoo ha ha! We do not die today!"
He then joins Hilde in examining the fallen creatures, giving the nearest wolf a forceful kick to ensure it's dead. He is also clearly wounded and has no idea what he's looking for.
"Babies? YES! Very small biting babies. Bites me they did! But only on the outside."
Vethorm struggles to calm down and stop hyperventilating as he realizes Ranhild came to his rescue.
"Th-thank you, Ranhild. You just saved my ass," he stammers.
Then he hears Hilde mention rabies and turns a paler shade of green.
"Rabies?! I...I wasn't bitten but we gotta treat that s~$! fast!"
"Anytime!" Ranhild replies to Verthorm's shaky expression of thanks. "That begs the question though, who would be insane enough to capture and cage rabid wolves...in fact, what are the odds of four wolves...young ones at that... all having rabies?"
"What in the world was that?" Robin holds his dagger a little too firmly as he looks around for any other dangerous surprises. When Purg explains the tracks back to the cage he shakes his head "How could someone have brought a whole cage full of angry rabid wolves into town without getting caught? This is totally different than Rodrik's killing... this is someone just trying to kill anyone and everyone. Maybe this isn't just a personal drama."
"You don't think someone in the guard was in on this to let this cart through under the cover of night?"
"No. Guard not let people do this. Guard help. Maybe someone make wolf sleep so not seem bad. There med-a-sin make you sleep." Purg was thinking too hard. But the guard were the good guys, they would not hurt the town. "This a bad person. But it does seem like... maybe they want us looking at wolves and not looking at who kill Rod-Rick."
"Medicine? What kind of medicine, Purg?" Vethorm asks, still clearly concerned. "We gotta get some fast, rabies is fatal if you don't treat it quickly!"
"Maybe... or maybe it's not related at all. Seems like a heck of a coincidence, pardon my language." He thinks about it and then says "We should check in with the Guard and see what they know about the cart and the movement through the gates on the last day or so. But you're right Purg that it might be a distraction so the trail to Rodrick's murderer goes cold."
"Ugh, it's bad either way!" Robin throws up his hands.
Purg shakes his head. "Purg not know, but one time Purg hurt bad and they give him med-a-sin to sleep. So if you want sneak animal past guard, make it sleep. It not look mean when it sleep, right?"
"Maybe not mean looking... but what guard's going to look at your box full of sleeping wolves and say that seems like a fine thing to bring into town?" Robin shakes his head "I'd be turning that wagon right around!"
"Maybe look dead. Going to bu.... meat shop. Purg take wolves to meat shop for cooking." This was in fact Purg's primary purpose, because if he did not hunt he did not eat and Purg very much liked to eat. Was not usually wolf, but wolf meat was still good eating. They liked to hunt in packs though and Purg was not one to take on a pack of wolves without much backup. Like he just did.
"Is Purg think wrong? Purg very big hope that guard still good guys."
Vethorm bellows incredulously. "THESE WOLVES WERE RABID! THE PEOPLE WHO GOT BITTEN NEED TREATMENT NOW OR THEY'LL DIE! AND DON'T TRY TO BLOODY COOK THEM, YOU'LL CATCH IT TOO!"
He stops to catch his breath, a little surprised himself at his own outburst. He points one of the passerby.
"You, go to That'N'Such and get Gorkis!"
Then he turns to another and points at there.
"You, go to Sanctuary and get Tyari or Brantos!"
"NOW!" he barks.
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Vethorm's tension gets people moving but perhaps a little too overzealously. The local merchant that was bitten goes white as others take off at a run. Most people seem to know enough about rabies to know it's serious, but not much more.
Mechanically, rabies does both Con and Will damage (hence it being deadly) but has an onset time measured in weeks.
Luckily Sanctuary is nearby and the matron, Tyari, arrives on site in moments."What has happened here?" she says as she comes running up. "Everyone calm down though. We'll take a look at everyone."
Right behind Tyari comes a group of sweaty half-orc smiths, lead by Sara Morninghawk. "We heard shouting."
"It won't come on quickly, so plenty of time for magical cures." Hilde bows respectfully to the senior priest, and explains what she determined based on the animals' behavior.
Wild is momentarily stunned by Vethorm's sudden outburst. He stares in awe of the half-orc's commanding presence but soon joins in the ruckus himself, still bloodied from the encounter.
When more authoritative figures arrive on the scene, he tones down the volume to whispered mumblings.
What's all this about rabies?
"Rabies will not kill me... only rivers of fire... smoke and stone..."
Wild is momentarily stunned by Vethorm's sudden outburst. He stares in awe of the half-orc's commanding presence but soon joins in the ruckus himself, still bloodied from the encounter.
"NO ONE'S GONNA DIE TODAY, YA MANIAC!" Vethorm yells back, more out of being spooked by Wild's response than actual anger. He takes a few breaths. "Sorry, sorry...It's just...there's been enough death already, what with Rodrick and all...we can't lose anyone else."
Vethorm's tension gets people moving but perhaps a little too overzealously. The local merchant that was bitten goes white as others take off at a run. Most people seem to know enough about rabies to know it's serious, but not much more.
Luckily Sanctuary is nearby and the matron, Tyari, arrives on site in moments."What has happened here?" she says as she comes running up. "Everyone calm down though. We'll take a look at everyone."
Right behind Tyari comes a group of sweaty half-orc smiths, lead by Sara Morninghawk. "We heard shouting."
"Tyari, good. Someone somehow snuck some rabid wolves into town and set them loose."
He indicates the merchant first.
"This man was bit and so were a few of us who took them down. They need medicine quickly, before the disease takes root. I'm fine, but please, help who needs it."
Then he turns and notices Sara and waves a greeting.
"Sara, hey. Sorry, that was me," he says sheepishly. "We needed to get whoever got bit by these wolves treated fast. We were just on our way to see you when the attack started."
Robin turns his head to the side at Vethorm's shouting "Do they? They look okay to me. Better they get treated slowly and carefully by Tyari than start panicking." He turns to the priestess as she arrives "Speak of the matron. It was really very strange, mangy sick wolves somehow in the middle of town. Almost like someone snuck them past the walls. I think only a couple of people got bit, but the wolves didn't exactly look healthy."
He heads over to talk with Sara "Nothing to worry about. Luckily I had all these brave fighters here, fighting off the rabid wolves. Not even any left for you to wrestle unfortunately." He grins cheekily. "Speaking of though, is Urnsul around? We're investigating something for the Graths and had a few questions to ask you and Urnsul."